| Sumario: | The story of the last thirty years in the complex relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia centers around its principal actor: Prince Bandar, the controversial longtime Saudi ambassador. These two very different societies have been bound together since 1945 by vital national security interests, based on a simple quid pro quo: Saudi oil at reasonable prices in return for U.S. protection of the House of Saud from foreign foes. However, the balance of the relationship has been fractured by recent events. Not since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran has the House of Saud felt itself in such peril, and the Saudis have not forgotten the inability, or unwillingness, of the United States to save the Shah. Prince Bandar is the first Saudi royal to serve as ambassador to Washington, and journalist Ottaway's frequent access to the prince has allowed him unparalleled insight into the complex geopolitics that govern Saudi Arabia's long dance with the United States.
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